The present invention relates to a data-processing apparatus and a data-processing method, which are used for rendering services using integrated circuits (ICs), as well as relates to a program for implementing the data-processing method.
Nowadays, there has been developed a communication system for carrying out transactions through a network such as the Internet by using an IC card.
In such a communication system, at a request made by a service-rendering enterprise rendering a service using an IC card, a server executes an application program in order to carry out procedural processing prescribed by the service-rendering enterprise.
In accordance with a processing request received from typically an IC-card reader/writer or a PC (personal computer), the server carries out processing such as authentication of a user as well as encryption and decryption of data by execution of the application program.
There is a demand for protection of high-security data such as keys set by the service-rendering enterprise, accounting data and history data against illegal falsification and illegal monitoring. This is because the application program executed by the server processes the high-security data.
In addition, versions of some data comprising the application program are upgraded from time to time. It is thus necessary to provide a function for carrying out operations in a state of mixed data having upgraded and unupgraded versions after an operation carried out by the server to render a service is started.
Furthermore, from a security-assurance point of view, it is also necessary to control users carrying out setting operations for application programs of the server.